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Darren Criss
Darren Criss is a singer-songwriter and actor. He is best known for playing Harry Potter in the fanmade hit musical, A Very Potter Musical and A Very Potter Sequel and soon A Very Potter Threequel. He currently portrays the character of Blaine Anderson on the Fox TV show, Glee, an openly gay student who transfered from Dalton Academy to William McKinley High School. Early life Criss was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Cerina (née Bru) and Charles William Criss, a banker and a former director of the San Francisco Opera, the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the Stern Grove Festival, and San Francisco Performances.Criss is Eurasian – his mother, a native of Cebu, Philippines, is of Chinese, Spanish, and Filipino descent, while his father, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is of Irish descent. He has an older brother named Charles "Chuck" Criss, a musician and member of the indie rock band Freelance Whales. In 1988, the Criss family relocated to Honolulu, Hawaii, where Criss's father started the East West Bank, serving as Chairman and CEO. They lived there until their return to San Francisco in 1992. At the age of five, Criss began taking violin lessons and continued his classical training up through university. He eventually became a multi-instrumentalist, mastering the guitar, piano, cello, mandolin, harmonica, and drums. Career 'That Media Show' Darren was the original host of That Media Show, a San Francisco short-form web series which discussed Hollywood, filmmaking and visual effects (early episodes are available on iTunes). 'Little White Lie' Though often considered a StarKid production, 'Little White Lie' was a webseries Criss was part of two years before Team StarKid was formed. Many of the Team Starkid members are in it. 'StarKid Productions' Criss is a major actor in the theater production group Team Starkid , formed by musical theatre students at the University of Michigan. His most popular role with Starkid was Harry Potter in both A Very Potter Musical (which went viral in the summer of 2009) and A Very Potter Sequel (which premiered in May 2010). He is credited with writing half of the songs in A Very Potter Musical and all of the songs in A Very Potter Sequel. The popularity of the musical gained Darren many fans within the Harry Potter fandom. thumb|right|250px|Criss in "A Very Potter Musical" as Harry Potter In the fall of 2009, Starkid created an original musical entitled Me and My Dick He was originally cast as one of the main protagonists, Dick, but he was a recurring role in TV series Eastwick during the show rehersal. so Joe Walker was chosen instead to play the role of Dick. In spite of his involvement in the TV Series, he wrote a few songs and played guitar in the band for the musical. Darren wrote the music for StarKid's latest production, Starship, an original musical about "a far off world inhabited by a race of giant alien insects" and Bug, who "has never quite fit into bug-society and inside the pus-vesicles that serve as his heart longs for something more." The show was performed live from February 11th to the 23rd at the Hoover-Leppen Theatre in Chicago. It premiered on YouTube on April 30, 2011. Many StarKid fans are possessive of Darren because they claim to have discovered him before Glee, something that Darren himself has acknowledged, but he says that his fans are the reason he is where he is right now, and he doesn't want to distinguish them as StarKid or Glee fans. Music His music career includes his first self-produced EP "Human", which was released during the summer of 2010, and includes five songs. The album is available for download on iTunes. Songs are: #Human #Sami #Jealousy #Don't You #Not Alone He started plans for a full-length album before he was hired for Glee, but still has plans to complete a full album in the near future. He has written several other original songs, and performs regularly at various venues in Los Angeles. He is also featured in Charlene Kaye's songs "Skin and Bones" and "Dress and Tie", and her music video for "Magnolia Wine". He has also written and performed several times his original song Stutter. Television Darren played Josh Burton, a minor recurring character and possible love interest for Mia, on ABC's short-lived drama,' ''Eastwick. He also appeared on an episode of ''Cold Case''', "Free Love" as the '69 version of Reuben Harris. Life of Leopold Darren Criss uses his voice for the Funny Or Die sensation Life Of Leopold. He is the voice of the title character Leopold Bonar. The pilot and Parts 1 through 5 have been released so far. Life of Leopold Broadway Darren made his Broadway debut on January 3, 2012, in a three week stint in ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying as lead character J. Pierpont Finch. He took over the role from Daniel Radcliffe who originated the role in this revival of the classic show. Rehearsal for the show took place during the Glee winter hiatus, and Darren was given a three week break from production for the performance. Glee Criss auditioned for Glee a couple of times, including an audition for Finn (with a cover of The Little Mermaid's "Part of Your World"), before landing the character of Blaine, a student at a rival school. He cut his curly hair for auditioning for Blaine. Blaine is an "out-and-proud student" and serves as a mentor to Kurt as he struggles through being bullied at McKinley. It was rumored his character would be a love interest for Kurt Hummel, and this has recently become fact in the episode Original Song when Kurt and Blaine began a relationship. Glee creator Ryan Murphy stated, "Darren has a major, major arc... He sort of becomes Kurt's mentor and then maybe love- he had to leave his own school because of bullying and goes to an all-boys academy and finds acceptance because that school has a no-bullying, zero-tolerance policy. Kurt really admires and respects Blaine. He plays someone who's one year older than Chris' character, so he's the old pro." Although throughout the episodes he has been recognised as a junior in High School, the same year as Kurt, and is appearing in season 3 as a senior along with the rest of the original Cast. Criss is a series regular for season 3.http://www.tvline.com/2011/07/glee-scoop-chord-overstreet-leaving/ Darren's first song on Glee ''(which was arranged and backed by Tufts University's Beelzebubs), ''Teenage Dream, hit number 8 on the Billboard charts, selling 214,000 singles in its first week. It surpassed "Don't Stop Believin'" for the highest first-week sales of any Glee song. The show's rendition of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" landed at #2 last May when it sold 177,000 copies. Source Many of his other songs sung in later episodes also reached the top ten on iTunes. Note *#1 on the AfterElton hot 100 Websites *A Very Potter Musical Act I Part I *Darren's youtube page *Team Starkid's Official Page *Darren Criss's Official Page *Twitter Trivia *He iriginally auditioned for the role of Finn. *He went to University of Michigan and graduated in 2009. *Darren can play the piano, guitar, digeridoo, panflute, violin, cello, drums, mandolin, ukulele, kazoo and harmonica. *Darren won the 2010 Greggy Award for role of Blaine on Glee. *Darren has a Bachelor in Fine Arts in performance and acting from the University of Michigan. *Darren's brother, Chuck Criss, is a member of the Freelance Whales. *He wrote every song for Team Starkid's 'A Very Potter Sequel' and Starship. He co-wrote with AJ Holmes on A Very Potter Musical. *Darran has a 'cool crush' on co-star Heather Morris. *Didn't go to his senior prom because he was grounded. *Hermione Granger is his fictional crush. *His favorite Filipino dish is Tocino. *Wrote his first song, Human, when he was fifteen. *Likes good people that play evil characters. *Had a small cameo role in Katy Perry's Last Friday Night music video, playing a character named Aaron Christopherson (a parody of his own name) along with fellow Glee co-star Kevin McHale. Video *His trademark accessory is his hot pink sunglasses. *His favorite baseball team is the San Francisco Giants. *His biggest fear is turning into an inanimate object. *Once he had a dream that he was in a concert, but the concert sounded like his alarm clock. *First guest mentor of "The Glee Project". *He celebrated 24th birthday in Chicago with his fellow Starkids. *He describes himself as a ho-hum random guy, and 'not just some floozy'. *One of his favorite colors is purple, because it is the color of creativity, and roman nobility. He also enjoys color combinations such as blue and orange together. *Before the Glee audition for Blaine Anderson, he cut his hair so he would have a better chance of getting the part. *If he could see the world in one color, it would be pink, because then mean people wouldn't look so mean. *He can speak and sing in Italian. Video *He created his own cartoon character as a child, who he named Iclemyer. *He loves the fans of Starkid and Glee equally. *Likes to use the words 'beautiful', 'organic' and 'genuine' a lot. *He used to live in Hawaii. *He likes to put Campbell's Mushroom Soup onto chicken and rice. *He used to perform every Thursday at an Italian resturant called Maggiano's. *His height is between 5'6" and 5'9". (There is some conflict on this matter.) *His name on twitter is @DarrenCriss, and his picture is pink glasses. *Has been made a full-time series regular for season 3. Source *He unexpectedly kissed co-star Chris Colfer at their last stop on the Glee European Tour in Dublin. *He is known for his triangular eyebrows. *His animagus would be a chameleon like Pascal in "Tangled". *During interviews he can't keep his hands still (he always moves them). *He likes green apples. *He likes beaches, sushi, and small animals... who are nice. *His vocal range is a tenor. (Source) *He is straight, though growing up he had a lot of gay friends and he himself was into "girly things" like musical theater. *He went to a college-preparatory high school, is a San Franciso native. *He won a Teen Choice Award for Breakout TV Star in 2011. *He will play the role of J. Pierrepont Finch in the Broadway Musical "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" from January 3, 2011 through January 22, 2011. *Darren can speak many languages, such as Italian, which was his major in college, and some Japanese (was his elective language in college), German, Portuguese and French (his three European Language electives at the University of Michigan) and Filipino (specifically, Cebuano) since he's Half-Filipino. *He notoriously forgets the lyrics to his own songs. *He "swears like a sailor". *He doesn't change the lyrics of songs as he sings them to make them gender-appropriate (as shown by Coolest Girl ) *He wears glasses. *He's "not into labels". *When he meets people he doesn't forget them. *He considers himself to be an actor who attempts to sing, as his degree is in acting. Videos thumb|right|250px|Do You Think I'm Sexy? thumb|left|250px|"Belle" Cover thumb|right|250px|Dress and Tie thumb|left|250px|Darren at the Grove Gallery Tumblr lghrrg077S1qeogas.jpg Tumblr lgkz5acOQP1qd53kgo1 500.jpg 028.jpg DarrenCriss1.jpg 63461946aelora213201173.jpg 5238068612 302c406b1d.jpg 2me7ss3.jpg.png Darren1.jpg 00013.jpg DCGlee-263R-3.jpg Darren criss gallery3.jpg 108086022.jpg Darrentongue.jpg Zzz.jpg 32384e.jpg 023637190.jpg 5151140308 32f01e63f3 z.jpg Screen shot 2010-07-26 at 11.13.07 AM.png|linktext=Darren Criss tumblr_levhh12kia1qagqn9o1_1280.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss tumblr_lgm6ac4DXy1qclq1no1_400.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss 24Darren.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss 69glqa.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss Darren Criss2.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss Darren Criss3.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss Darren Criss4.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss rcIY6.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss 69350_833418.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss s640x480.jpeg|linktext=Darren Criss s640x480n.jpeg|linktext=Darren Criss tumblr_lgho7wjkW31qb74s3o1_400.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss 5Darren.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss 15yxbu8.jpg.png|linktext=Darren Criss tumblr_lh6gi3vOn41qdx234o1_400.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss tumblr_lh77lf8NPK1qauecro1_400.png|linktext=Darren Criss tumblr_lf6rxwheCX1qzl9k5o1_500.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss 6a00e54fb7301c88340147e23cecb6970b.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss 6a00e54fb7301c88340147e23cea02970b.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss tumblr_legsn2IAlk1qehni3o1_1280.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss 63738818aelora228201180.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss 63711981aelora227201153.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss Screen shot 2010-11-16 at 10.21.48 AM.png|linktext=Darren Criss tumblr_lghrliLfUz1qd53kgo1_500.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss 03-3.png|linktext=Darren Criss darrencriss3.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss x2_4ed6201.jpeg|Darren and Charice behind the scenes|linktext=Darren Criss tumblr_li7ic1pnvm1qehni3o1_500.jpg|At Paleyfest tumblr_li6x1oaeiQ1qafewko1_500.jpg|At Paleyfest|linktext=Darren Criss K0YJh.png vLKoR.png tumblr_lir300C37C1qegfeco1_1280.png|Darren's hands|linktext=Darren Criss tumblr_lir3c4Yuaj1qegfeco1_1280.png|linktext=Darren Criss tumblr_lj5kerleDx1qfa8r3o1_1280.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss tumblr_lj5ka8yXVY1qfa8r3o1_500.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss tumblr_lj5ohkzCUN1qi4s8uo1_400.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss tumblr_lj5nvaPgip1qd53kgo1_400.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss tumblr_lj5oihDp5R1qgu1tvo1_400.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss tumblr_lj72mnafla1qddswgo1_400.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss Darren-criss-yearbook-435x580.jpg|High School Photo|linktext=Darren Criss 8pdHJ.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss XDKDW.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss 9dCu2.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss darren-criss-grove-performance-11232010-05-430x645.jpg tumblr_ldt4nxIRdW1qd2377o1_500.png|Yearbook 1069969-criss-magazine-glee-617-409.jpg|Billboard Magazine|linktext=Darren Criss Hrbbq.jpg|Billboard Magazine|linktext=Darren Criss 2zina4n.jpg|With his brother, Chuck|linktext=Darren Criss tumblr_ljtbkihGgi1qdyl9uo1_500.jpg|Coachella|linktext=Darren Criss jg9bm.jpg|Before The Today Show|linktext=Darren Criss tumblr_lk22pwAB1D1qehni3o1_500.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss tumblr_lk37dciheC1qhnn56o1_500.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss darren1.pbbig.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss darren4.pbbig.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss 64433900Aelora423201110425AM.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss 64434328Aelora423201110026AM.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss 64412007Aelora4232011125606AM.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss 64411991Aelora4232011125225AM.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss 64412030Aelora4232011125544AM.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss darrentime.jpg|Times 100|linktext=Darren Criss darrentime3.jpg|Times 100|linktext=Darren Criss 1083929-darren-criss-4-617-409.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss ascapdarren.jpg|linktext=Darren Criss tumblr_ljn9zuupnh1qaqtxn.jpg 67.jpg 68.jpg tight pants!.jpg untitled.JPG|:) dc shirtless.jpg|Darren Criss topless! tumblr_llhyqjdWEN1qfw6gq.jpg tumblr_llhys2xn8A1qfw6gq.jpg tumblr_llhyseTiAZ1qfw6gq.jpg tumblr_llhysr3lw01qfw6gq.jpg tumblr_llhyt5TuJy1qfw6gq.jpg tumblr_llhytg3vF41qfw6gq.jpg|Sexiest one of them all tumblr_llhytqVFYg1qfw6gq.jpg tumblr_llhyucmiTt1qfw6gq.jpg|Melting darren doesn't know.png|darren doesn't know dcriss2.jpg avpm.jpg GQ.jpg|:D Merry-christmas-darren-criss-300x300.jpg 7678 Darren Criss Nov16m.jpg normal_00001.jpg|Darren, Cory, Dianna and Lea Darren-criss-little-mermaid-300x300.jpg Darren criss yearbook.jpg Darren-criss-day-in-the-life-aol-interview-300x300.jpg tumblr_lmg9gv0EPB1qi5w5f.jpg tumblr_lmeo0hWp1k1qi6sxbo1_500.jpg darrencriss4.jpg Tumblr lmq7w5ouQg1qzl9k5o1 500.jpg Darren.png aaron christopherson.png|Aaron Christopherson Darren-criss--large-msg-12966014827.jpg Darren-criss-amas-teenage-dream-with-katy-perry-01.jpg Robert-ulrich-darren-criss.jpg Tumblr leyzg84aoP1qehni3o1 500.jpg Orig-13981481.jpg Tumblr lmz51yD6NQ1qh4ah8o1 500.jpg darrencriss_008.jpg darrencriss_036.png darrencriss_033.png darrencriss_010.png Tumblr lmlm6p9m7l1qklpfbo1 500.png imagesCAPM9C9J.jpg|His smile, love for music, pink glasses!! Tumblr lgmwbvYsqY1qbn5d5o1 500.png Tumblr lghtayxfU61qafewko1 500.gif lunapic_13086063526041_2.jpg|Parren = Darren + Pink Tumblr ln2iujrT2q1qffky9o1 500.gif|His signature. tumblr_lmz55jJXmP1qdbnj3o1_500.jpg princedarren.jpg woowww.png Tumblr lmm603CefN1qki5wso1 500.jpg Tumblr lmx6vwCGuC1qcjm7xo1 500.jpg Tumblr ln2bbwXLnv1qhqyogo1 r1 500.gif Tumblr lmweotN9pA1qbwvzoo1 500.jpg Tumblr lmveqz9OTg1qadue8o1 500.gif Tumblr lmsv52Beod1qduiw9o1 400.gif Tumblr lmrj0gMIqg1qgzqnco1 500.gif Tumblr ldvxagbKBV1qc7cqo.jpg DarrenCriss2.jpg Tumblr ln7vw9mGgq1qcayy9.gif Tumblr lgy7hkFy5o1qzf644.gif Tumblr lgy7fuxmIC1qzf644.gif Tumblr lgy6taq4yf1qzf644.gif Tumblr ln5hj74eyV1qkvgx4o1 500.gif Tumblr lmst0sJdtR1qci7ofo1 500.gif Tumblr lk7wqoCdFg1qdnpeio1 500.png Tumblr ljq4kyRqr81qb8p29o1 500.gif Tumblr ljmh1bxx1w1qb8p29o1 500.gif Tumblr lncwmdTvVz1qhxocvo1 400.jpg Tumblr lngkp0QtBr1qbjicho1 1280.jpg Tumblr lnfs8bGN5n1qgk57io1 500.jpg Tumblr lniuhddaqt1qc1vfyo1 500.jpg Tumblr lnhfrmPlTU1qzy5tao1 500.gif Tumblr lnhe8jR8kz1qcb5ndo1 500.gif Tumblr lngmlu53kD1qlww3ro1 500.gif Tumblr lmzhrdXlS61qgzqnco1 500.gif Tumblr ldcl5sKg531qe0yfuo1 500.jpg|Darren with his parents. Tumblr lnrvnwNKWF1qa49pao1 500.jpg Tumblr lntnovlp6u1qfcdl6o1 500.jpg Tumblr lntitcZzDd1qi6wjno1 500.jpg Tumblr lnvdoacs6E1qcdzblo1 500.gif Tumblr lnvd36DgJi1qdnpeio1 500.gif Rock.PNG Guitar.PNG Fans.PNG D.PNG normal_140.jpg normal_009.JPG normal_00077.jpg normal_0006.jpg normal_0005.jpg Tumblr lnquntRe5l1qg9537o1 500.jpg Tumblr lnqbk6JG3m1qigb2no1 r1 500.gif Tumblr lno18yNa1X1qgbx5jo1 500.gif Tumblr lnnsg8DWoD1qjkxdso1 500.jpg Tumblr lnxvtdoWUj1qcayy9.gif Tumblr lnxfvyYv2x1qfdcz6.gif Tumblr lnz79oI3ya1qgkj5so1 400.gif Tumblr lnzggmgR321qfmm7do1 500.jpg 001~5.jpg Tumblr lnfb0dh0P51qh2s4wo1 400.gif Tumblr lnw2czoCOh1qbe1leo1 r2 500.gif Tumblr llzxzaxoO11qzmgk8o1 500.gif Tumblr lk0tq8qFoO1qdxej0o1 500.gif Tumblr loi9bo0tV61qdxej0o1 500.gif 1070797651.jpg Tumblr loo21wCAhX1qk6vsv.gif Tumblr lonoapUeSb1qdxej0o1 500.jpg tumblr_lor46uz0jy1qfrzok.jpg|You are so CUTE Darren! Tumblr lom17oeUSR1qfh37ho1 500.jpg Tumblr lohpsjUie51qcayy9.gif Tumblr loekftF8m81qk8edvo1 500.gif Tumblr loam75trDx1qafv9po1 500.gif Tumblr lnveteetw71qcayy9.gif Tumblr lnl95gOi4V1qcayy9.gif Tumblr lna0qjQNTc1qcayy9.gif Tumblr lmzje0p7iO1qcayy9.gif Tumblr lmble43wOD1qb8p29o1 500.gif Tumblr lm6qmrMWet1qi6wjno1 500.jpg|Could it be? A photo of young Darren. Tumblr lotq99rdEc1qcayy9.gif Tumblr llt9w291Mz1qj5qeao1 500.jpg Tumblr lorq00J5n71qhivg9o1 400.jpg Tumblr ljyb6uzojw1qzr335.gif Tumblr loz3gyLEJK1qcayy9.gif Tumblr lozxhnvLNo1qfyijao1 r1 500.png Tumblr lovzay6O8a1qarmfjo4 500.gif Tumblr lp2a6z9OEp1qcayy9.gif Tumblr loww1j7qhP1qlpwmwo1 500.gif tumblr_lp68fmOONO1qki5wso1_500.jpg tumblr_lp6b7mg8Tn1qki5wso1_500.jpg tumblr_lp6b0camou1qgu1tvo1_500.jpg Tumblr lnw2z4eAnK1qe5x4p.gif Tumblr lnz2xp136c1qi4s8uo1 500.gif Tumblr lpccnygGy11qdemuso1 500.jpg Tumblr lou0tcTqzI1qk7cg4o1 500.jpg darrenrgrgf.jpg tumblr_lpoki6AgxB1qat4jdo1_500.jpg|Darren with Kellan Sarmiento (mini warbler) and his parents at the Glee 3D movie premiere. 254649_144883442263055_101236796627720_277786_7647359_n.jpg 262994_10150265647307608_604017607_7439958_5565920_n.jpg 282508_10150280074377608_604017607_7582971_4786062_n.jpg 283263_10150279195732608_604017607_7574766_3968741_n.jpg 285348_10150268808472608_604017607_7475215_5436322_n.jpg Blaine-NY.png Category:Actors